The Trump administration's new green-card rule could be 'a backdoor' to immigration reform, experts say

September 03, 2019
By
Law Offices of James A. Welcome

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Last Monday, The Trump administration announced a new rule change that
would make it harder for
immigrants to seek public benefits that included food stamps, housing
assistance, and Medicaid if they were applying for a green card or citizenship.
The rule change was just another example of the Trump Administration's
efforts to assert their bureaucratic authority over the national government
and the immigration process. Numerous White House officials have been
determined to change the countries immigration laws dramatically.

Taking effect in mid-October, the new rule would essentially provide the
government suppression of
immigrants allowed into the United States based on their economic background
and how likely they
may be to use government programs. Acting US Citizenship and Immigration
Services Director Ken
Cuccinelli said the goal is to bring "people to join us as American
citizens, as legal permanent residents first, who can stand on their own
two feet, who will not be reliant on the welfare system, especially in
the age of the modern welfare state which is so expansive and expensive."
Experts say that the new law would only welcome wealthier immigrants and
better educated immigrants to enter the country rather than those of low incomes.

This new rule would thus be a backdoor for immigration reform. This was
echoed by Bob Greenstein,
the president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities," essentially
puts a price tag on obtaining
lawful permanent residency in the United States, shifting it away from
family-based immigration
toward one restricted to people who are already relatively well-off or
highly skilled when they enter the country." A Migration Policy Institute
analysis of the proposed rule change released last year found immigrants
from Mexico and Central America would be at a significantly higher risk
of having their green cards rejected compared with immigrants from other
regions of the world. Those from Europe, Canada, and Oceania were the
least likely to be negatively affected.

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